John Slade
John Slade (19 December 1959-) was an American special forces operative who rescued journalist Frank Morris from the Sandinistas during the Nicaraguan Civil War in 1988. Biography John Slade was born on 19 December 1959 in Miami, Florida, in the United States. He used to serve in the Green Berets, and later returned home to run a dry-cleaning business. One day in 1988, masked men cornered him as he left his office with a sack of clothes, with one of them wielding a chain and another one using a baseball bat. Slade beat them down, but not before one of them slipped a bag of cocaine into his shirt pocket. The Miami Police Department arrived and arrested him, and he was sent to the police station on 400 N.W. 2nd Avenue. A man entered his jail, and Slade asked him if he was a lawyer; the man said that he could bail him out in exchange for a favor, or else he would be in jail for ten years. Slade was taken to the roof by the man, who introduced him to General Rosen and bureaucrat Mr. Colbert. ]]General Rosen took out a picture of a man, and Slade identified him as Frank Morris. Rosen told him that he was a journalist on assignment in Nicaragua, but the Sandinistas arrested him as a spy. Rosen wanted Slade, who was one of the best in extraction from hostile territories, to rescue the war hero Morris from Nicaragua. Slade was told that if he refused, he would spend the next ten years in jail; it was Rosen's special incentives program. Colbert told him that the Nicaraguans informed Colbert that he was being held in a military area in the northern part of the country, but the location was being rotated every few days. Rosen told Slade that he would enter the country as a Canadian photographer and would have two contacts: a local woman named Marta and a Dutch helicopter pilot. Rosen informed him that the helicopter pilot would have all of his equipment. Slade gave them a list of items that he wanted for the Dutchman to give him, and then headed to Nicaragua. Slade entered Nicaragua during the Nicaraguan Civil War, taking pictures of the Sandinista government troops putting down riots by shooting the leader and hoarding the other rioters into cars. While taking pictures, he saw the brutality of the soldiers, who beat down several of the people before throwing them into their cars, which sped off to prisons where they would be held for their political beliefs. He entered the Hotel Special next, taking a few pictures before meeting his contact Marta at a table. She asked him to buy her a drink, so he said that he expected her to be different. Slade asked if the officials' taking of his passport at the airport was normal, and Marta said that it was not normal, and that they probably knew who he was. She told him that the Contras informed her that Morris was in the Mediana area, and she told him that she was born there. When she said that she would accompany him to the area, Slade said that he travelled alone. She brought up the fact that he did not speak Spanish and that she did, and that he would not find the place, because it was too complicated. They both left, setting off on their mission. ]]Meanwhile, the Soviet Union colonel Ivan Kariasin began a search for him. He picked up Slade's passport at the airport, and he knew that Slade was not really who he said he was; Kariasin said that the real "Steven Lafargue" died of terminal cancer three months ago. Slade and Marta drove through the jungles, and when Marta asked him which name to call him, he told her to call him by his real name, John Slade. During the ride, Marta told him that her "class act" (as John called it) was because she wanted to go to America; her mother was American, explaining how she knew English. They arrived at a bridge that was destroyed near the end, waiting for the Dutchman to arrive. While they waited, John set a trap on the truck. When the helicopter arrived, a truck full of Sandinista troops also arrived, and John told the helicopter to take off. He backed up the car after setting the fuses on fire and climbed up the dropped ladder of the helicopter as his car backed into the Sandinista truck, exploding and killing the Nicaraguan troops. When Slade entered the helicopter, the pilot introduced himself as Joop Houtman. Houtman told him that he could not land them at Oliviera, but he would get them as close as possible; his plan went wrong earlier, and he had to land at the bridge, not expecting Sandinista troops. He told Slade that his equipment was in the back, and told him that he hoped that it lasted for the next three days, when he would pick him up. Slade told him to pick him up in one day, and if he was not there, he wanted him to fly away instead. They were dropped in the jungles, and they snuck past two squads of troops that were scouring the area for them. Slade killed one guard by snapping his neck, and Marta stabbed another guard in the throat and back. They killed four more, with Slade killing one by stabbing him from behind, another by throwing his knife in his chest, and another by shooting him with a slingshot, while Marta threw a knife in the back of another Sandinista. Slade told Marta to wait while he found a safe way through the tunnel, and he told her that he would meet her when he came back. While in the tunnel, he gunned down even more Nicaraguan troops there, and also took out a boat of them with one volley of bullets. He also used his bomb slingshot to kill several soldiers. When he was swimming down the cave's river, he was nearly killed by a Nicaraguan soldier from up high, but Marta arrived and killed the man. Marta said that she took the short way, and she resumed the mission with Slade. Soon, they ran into a hornet's nest, and Marta came up with an idea: she would let the Sandinistas capture her, and they would probably take her to where Morris was being held. She counted on Slade to prevent the soldiers from killing her, and after shooting two Nicaraguan troops dead, she surrendered to them. Slade followed her, taking out a few Sandinista troops in the process. He cleverly used one of his strings to hang a man while he was on the top of a tree. Slade tied a grenade to the man's shirt, and when other Sandinista troops found the hanging body, Slade shot the grenade with a pistol, blowing him up and killing a few of the Sandinistas. Marta later arrived at the prison, where Colonel Kariasin was questioning Marta. He knew all about her; her brother was involved with the previous regime, and he knew that her full name was Marta Castillo-Smith. While Kariasin was questioning her, Slade used a silenced MP5 to kill several guards, and he also used grenades to attack them. He single-handedly took out almost all of the sentries and cornered Kariasin, forcing him to show him to where Morris was held. He had several sentries put their guns down or else he would kill Kariasin, and he forced Kariasin to get Santiago to bring out Marta and Morris. With Marta and Morris, he left with Kariasin, and he killed a few Sandinistas that tried to prevent their escape. He held Santiago hostage until they left the fort, when he kicked him to the ground and killed his men. Slade, Marta, Morris, and Kariasin left in a truck, leaving the area. However, Santiago radioed in for support. A helicopter identified them as escaping northeast in Sector 2-E. The helicopter followed them, but the gunner did not want to fire, fearing that he would hit the Colonel. They lost the helicopter while driving in the jungle, and Slade shot at the helicopter with his MP5 until it exploded. He also killed several Sandinista troops searching through the jungle for them, although Morris was wounded by a few shots. They fixed his wounds, and they left Kariasin in the jungle with a grenade in his mouth, letting his men rescue him while they escaped. Rather than go south as planned, he went north, trying to fool Kariasin; Kariasin expected such a move, and told Santiago to go north. They headed to Marta's hometown of Mediana for some breathing space for the injured Morris, and they were treated by Marta's sister Dolores. Slade told Marta that he was glad that she made the trip with him, and Slade saw Morris leave his hut, using an improvised crutch (a walking stick made by Marta). Soon, Dolores saw a squad of Sandinista troops entering the village, and she warned them. Santiago arrived in a Nissan pickup truck with some troops, and he became aware of the trio's presence when he saw some blood on the floor of the hut. He interrogated Dolores, asking her where they were, but when she refused to answer, he shot her twice with his revolver, and they set out after them. Later, Morris asked Slade how he got to Nicaragua. When Slade said that the PFO brought him down, Morris told him that the PFO armed both the Contras and the Sandinistas, and they were paid with drugs. He also told him that Kariasin wanted to blackmail the PFO, which is why he wanted him to give the interview. Slade told Morris that he never trusted General Rosen in the first place, knowing that he ran some kind of scam from the beginning. They got up from resting, and Slade, Morris, and Marta moved towards Plano Alto, a long way away. Santiago told Kariasin about their destination, and Kariasin had all available troops in the area head there. Morris told Slade and Marta that the fishing village of Tordesillas was not far, and because it was also a place for smuggling both humans and drugs, they could escape there (after all, it was where Morris got into the country). Marta warned them that the people were suspicious and did not take kindly to strangers, but Slade decided to go there. Slade decided that he would see if the ridge was clear, but in the meantime, Marta aimed a gun at Morris, and Morris found out that the PFO got to her somehow; he did not believe that she fell for money, but perhaps the PFO held her husband or other family members hostage. Marta hesitated to kill him in cold blood, but Joop Houtman shot him through the forehead. Slade heard Morris call for him, so he hurried back, only to find Morris dead with a bullet in his forehead. Slade killed all of the Sandinistas that came to attack him, and decided to get revenge for the death of his old friend, who taught him everything that he knew about fighting. Back in Miami, General Rosen decided that he would still kill Marta's brother rather than compromise a $22,000,000 deal. He also said that if the Sandinistas captured Slade, there would be no problem left. Slade continued on to Tordesillas, killing a Sandinista and taking his uniform. However, when he boarded the cargo ship to kill Colonel Kariasin, Kariasin saw through his plot and had him tied up. Slade kicked Kariasin, so Kariasin had him taken down below. Santiago repeatedly electrocuted him until Slade got himself free and threw Santiago against a sharp object, impaling him through the chest. He made his way up to the bridge, where he suffocated Kariasin and cracked his neck in revenge for Morris. Later, he headed to find Joop, Marta, and the man who brought him into the program. He beat down the man, but Joop intimidated him by throwing Marta down steps and shooting around her. Eventually, he shot her several times, mortally wounding her. Slade headed under the house, and when he saw dust fall from a plank creaking, he shot upwards, shooting Joop from below several times and killing him. He found Marta, who said that she did not kill Morris. Slade told her that he knew who was at the bottom of the whole thing and that he would take care of it, and Marta died. Slade returned to Miami, and entered Rosen's mansion. He heard Rosen reciting his election campaign speeches, and when he encountered him, Rosen told him that he was sorry about Morris. Slade told him to save his excuses for his speeches, and told him that the US flag was too small for him to hide behind. He told him that he did not fight wars for his country, but created them because they were good business. Slade also told him that if he was caught, he would just cite the Fifth Amendment or say that he did not remember starting the wars. Rosen offered him more money than he could have ever dreamed of, but Slade said that he wanted something cheap, something worth "less than shit": Rosen. He aimed the gun at him and fired, killing him. Later, Slade stopped by a gas station, where he asked a trucker (who had just won in boxing) when the next bus out of Miami came. He said that the next bus was the day after at 5:00, but Slade said that it was too late. The trucker offered to take him out of town, saying that he could use a conversation, and Slade hopped in. Slade asked him who won the fight, and the trucker said that he did. He asked him if he liked boxing, but Slade said that he hated violence, giving up his old ways. He left Miami, and started a new life. Category:American soldiers Category:Soldiers Category:Americans Category:1959 births Category:English-Americans Category:Italian-Americans Category:Catholics Category:People from Miami Category:People from Florida Category:US Army Category:Green Berets